Director Slađana Lučić Screenplay Slađana Lučić Director of Photography Vjeran Hrpka Editing Emina Zubčević & Ana Štulina Sound Design Duško Šarić-Kovačić Producer Tamara Babun Zovko Co-Producer Slađana Lučić
Cast Ajna Jusić, Sabina Bašić, Alen Muhić…

Genres
Documentary

Production country
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Language
Bosnian, English

Colour
Colour

Screening formats
DCP / mp4

Directors Note
For as long as I have been alive, there has always been at least one armed conflict somewhere in the world. Sexual violence, primarily against women and girls, is still used as a weapon of war, and children are still being born as a result of it. In recent years, I have had the opportunity to meet several brave individuals, now adults, who have broken the silence and spoken about their identities and the stigma they face. They use movement, dance and theatre, photography and writing as safe spaces and as a way of addressing the public and a society that once saw them as the children of the enemy.

The stories of Ajna Jusić, Lejla Damon and Alen Muhić are important for all of us, regardless of where we live. They matter for children who are still being born into the world because of war, and for their mothers, who can see that silence is not the only answer. In all post-conflict societies, they face socio-economic marginalization, are often rejected by their families, and are subjected to stigma and violence.

We must also not forget the link between the lack of respect for women’s rights and the stigma experienced by children born of wartime rape. Both must be understood through the lens of gender discrimination. These children are stigmatized through patriarchal attitudes and by the association of a child’s identity with the perpetrator. They are often seen only through the circumstances of their conception and the question of who their biological father is. Yet, perhaps most importantly for me, this is not just another story about war and the past, but about small revolutions of individuals. There are so many small revolutions in the world that pass quietly and courageously, unnoticed, yet bring about so much good.

Directors Short Bio
Slađana Lučić (DocCooltura) is a documentary filmmaker, former news editor and journalist with nearly 30 years of experience, currently living between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In her documentary work, she explores how individuals—particularly women—seek to create meaningful change in their communities, portraying “small revolutions” through intimate portraits of often overlooked people. Whether it is young women challenging prejudice, women fighting for health and survival within unforgiving systems, or young people—civilian victims of war—using activism to transform society, her films aim to tell untold stories and show how change often requires very little. Sometimes it is a change in law, sometimes the removal of absurd rules, and sometimes simply a shift in how we think about the people and phenomena around us.

Throughout her journalistic career, she has worked on the creation, coordination and development of local, regional and global TV news programs and projects, including at Al Jazeera in Sarajevo and London, RTL Croatia, and Croatian Television.